William Perlman/The Star-LedgerRookie Muhammad Wilkerson said that he doesn't regret defending himself against Giants running back Brandon Jacobs.

The Jets' Muhammad Wilkerson said that Giants running back Brandon Jacobs was getting "rowdy" with some other teammates (Emanuel Cook), but nothing directly led to a two-punch fight that got both of them ejected in Monday night's preseason game midway through the third quarter.

"I was just pass rushing and he came up in pass protect, and I ran into him the first time. The ball was thrown and he approached me, threw a blow at me and that's what it was," Wilkerson said.

He said that he does not regret what he did.

"Was it a smart move? No. Do I regret it? No," Wilkerson said on a conference call this afternoon. "That's just football and I'm not going to let someone just try and take advantage of me.

"It was a rookie mistake, I let my anger get the best of me. That's just something I have to learn and move forward with."

Teammate Jim Leonhard saw the play and said that the competitive fire is consistent from what they've seen of Wilkerson in camp. In re-watching the film today, he didn't see anything wrong with what Wilkerson did, suggesting that Jacobs "took offense" to a solid play by Wilkerson.

"(Jacobs) tried to block (Wilkerson) in the hole but (Wilkerson) did a great job on the play. It was a hard-nosed football play and it ended up where it ended up which was unfortunate," Leonhard said. "But you do like to see that -- he's not backing down. He's going to be an aggressive player for us and we like to see that."

Monday night, Bart Scott said that he wished Jacobs would have been the bigger person, or "wily veteran," and ended the fight on sight.

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Rookie wideout Jeremy Kerley said that he "auditioned" for the Wildcat role through a couple of practice and said that he was comfortable debuting it in last night's preseason game against the Giants.

"It felt good, that was something that set me apart from a lot of guys and I'm glad we could put that in our game plan last night," Kerley said.

"I got some positive feedback on it," he added.

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Building on some lofty goals set by Rex Ryan — who once again predicted the league's top defense today — Jim Leonhard said he's "really intrigued" by the defense this year. Citing an already-healthy Calvin Pace and a Darrelle Revis that went through a full camp, Leonhard thinks that the defense is in a better place to start the season.

And although he will not be playing in Thursday's preseason finale (likely none of the starters outside Wilkerson will), Leonhard said it's one of his favorite games to watch based on his experiences using it to try and make teams.

"I love this fourth preseason game," he said. "Obviously I've been through some battles myself trying to make rosters and you know, it would mean a lot to a lot of people. There are families and jobs and lives on the line. It's fun to watch these guys go out there and compete."